Her-Him
by The-other-8th-wonder
Summary: After being left by their significant others, two people reflect on what went wrong in their relationships.
1. Chapter 1

**_I don't know what this is but it popped in my head and begged to be written. I hope you like it and it's not confusing. I'm thinking of making this a two-shot. Let me know what you think._**

**_DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Leave me alone._**

* * *

_Her_

She stood in the church wiping the tears from her eyes. How could he do this to her? He promised he would be there, promised he would look out for her. Now she was hurt more than she ever had been before and it was all because of him. Well, not him really—_her._

She should have known it was happening. He never wanted to talk about his past, always got a wistful look in his eye when he passed his old high school, or he heard her sing on the radio. It was only a matter of time before he was gone. At first she accepted it, knowing it was better to have half his heart than none at all.

She laughed bitterly in the now empty chapel. That was her first mistake. If she could go back in time she would shake her younger self, warn her that Sam Evans was a one woman man and she was not his woman. He gave his heart away a long time ago, and never bothered to get it back. She would have saved herself a lot of heartache.

But he proposed and everything seemed better, seemed brighter. She should have said no, should have prodded about why he seemed adamant on marrying her, but she didn't because he asked her to marry him and she felt that everything was right in the world. She thought she'd won. Even _she_ had never gotten that far with Sam.

But the warning signs were there. They were always there, even as she tried to ignore them. It came when he tensed whenever someone mentioned her. How he smiled sadly when they passed carnivals, couldn't stand the taste of cotton candy although his mother said he loved it as a kid and how he would run his fingers over his tattoo.

It took her a while to see it, took him a while to be comfortable enough with her to show it but looking back he probably didn't want her to see it because it was their thing. It was small really—a few inches in length. She caught him one night and asked to see. It was a scepter with a purple 'M' piercing through the bottom. She didn't think much of it at the time and when she asked what it meant he dismissed it. She was foolish enough to take his word for it. Even more foolish for never bringing it up again.

And he'd been so happy lately. Now she knew why. It was because of _her_. _She_ put the dumb ass grin back on his face and made him happy. But his happiness soon dwindled and he was depressed. Out of the blue he proposed and everything got better.

Or so she thought.

He still spent hours away from her doing God knows what. But she knew now. He was with _her_.

So when he pulled her aside before the wedding she half expected it really. She saw the guilty look in his eyes and the way he wrung his hands. It was over. She just waited for his confirmation. And he told her. He said he never got over his first love. That she recently came back into his life and he tried to be friends with her but he failed. He said he panicked. That he proposed so he wouldn't get hurt by _her _again. That he used her and that was unfair. That he was sorry and never meant for this to happen. That he would be doing her a disservice if he went along with the wedding knowing he wasn't in love with her. He kissed her forehead and walked away. Then it was over.

In the end she wasn't sad, wasn't angry. She knew she was fighting a losing game. Being in love with Sam Evans and not being Mercedes Jones was like swimming upstream. She could see why he loved _her_, see why he never let _her_ go. She wanted to hate _her_ but she couldn't. Mercedes was this light, this force that you couldn't ignore. _She_ was kind, and everyone who met her instantly feel in love with her. She knew the girl kept her distance out of respect for their relationship, she knew _she_ and Sam were that annoying forever type of love, but she ignored it. She was there for him during the break up, there to pick up the pieces she helped shatter.

Karma's a bitch. She just didn't know it would collect so soon.

Watching her perfect ivory dress billow on the floor she kicked it across the room and slid on her jeans. She wouldn't be needing it—not today. Never with him. Maybe she should wrap it up and send it to _her_—Mercedes would be needing one soon.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Well here's the second part. Hope you like it. Thanks so much for reading. **_

* * *

He came home early one day to surprise her. Lately she had been distant, preoccupied. He hoped this would get them on the road to reconciliation; to heal whatever it was that was broken between them.

He was wrong.

His uneasy feeling had been confirmed the moment he stepped into their apartment—she was gone.

Sure the furniture was still there. His things were still strewn where she used to fuss that he pick them up.

But the once lively place lacked personality, lacked warmth. It lacked her. Gone were her touches, the pictures of her family and the shades of purples once woven throughout the space. It was cold, sterile, and empty. Dropping his bag he walked into their bedroom, well his bedroom now. Her clothes were gone, her magnifying mirror with the constant makeup smudges, her scent was erased from the pillows. Sitting on the bed he looked in the room, completely shell shocked. Never had a clean orderly space felt in such disarray. Never had a quiet place felt so dissonant.

Where did it all go wrong?

He hung his head and mussed his brown locks. He knew the answer to that—it was when _he_ came back into her life.

He suspected _he_ was the reason she was hesitant to start a relationship. She'd told him she was hurt before, told him it was unfair to be with him when all she could offer was a broken heart. But he didn't listen. She was the most precious thing in the world to him. He had to at least _try_.

And boy did he ever try. Tried to erase the memories of her past with _him_. Tried to get her to trust him, to open up to him_. _Ignore the way her eyes lit up when she saw _him_ for the first time in years. He had been foolish to think she was over him. Not when he had to fight tooth and nail to let him into her heart.

She had been leaving him hints for months—cancelling dates, staying later at work, leaving earlier in the mornings. It was all right there, right underneath the surface threatening to rip them apart. First it was the secret smiles she had when she spaced out, always lost in a memory. It had been happening so frequently he thought it may be a medical condition. Whenever he asked about it she avoided the question. But he never pushed her because he was afraid she would leave if she had.

Big mistake.

If he had pushed her he would have realized she spaced out when she thought of _him. _When memories and fantasies of _him_ touching and kissing her inundated her psyche. He would have realized that she never got over _him_, and he was a poor sap for ever thinking that she would. He would have understood that he should have left her alone, instead of desperately pursuing her.

Then it was the dismissive response he got when he told her he loved her. She just said okay. She never returned his affections. She didn't even try. Never even planned on it.

And it hurt, even though he knew she couldn't love him. Not while _he_ still took residence in her heart.

But _he_ was with someone else. _He_ was happy. _He_ was moving on, getting married, so she should have moved on to him.

He knew he was rushing her, knew she needed to go slow, but he panicked. He couldn't lose her. Not to _him_. So he crowded her, _smothered_ her. Begged that she moved in with him. Focused all of his attention on her. He punched a pillow knowing in his desperation he practically pushed her into _his_ arms.

Enough of this. Enough of this pity party and blame game. It wasn't going to bring her back. He'd lost. And he deserved to. Sighing he went to the fridge to grab a beer and ended up downing 4—self-medication at its best.

He barely noticed it the first time, it didn't stand out to him in the now dull space, but as his head pounded he picked up the piece of paper on the kitchen island that was written in her scrawl. Her words ruined him.

_Sebastian,_

_I'm sorry I couldn't be the woman you needed, the one you deserved._

_I told you I was broken, that I wasn't over Sam. _

_But you pursued me anyway, and I tried._

_I tried Bastian, honest I did._

_And when I saw him a few months ago I tried to ignore my feelings. I tried to remain loyal to you. _

_When he hugged me I kept my distance, when he kissed me I told him our relationship was platonic. I did it for you. It hurt, but I couldn't betray you._

_But there was a pull to him, a pull stronger than my loyalty to you. _

_He's an essential piece of me and I couldn't let him go. Not for you. Not for anyone. _

_So I went for it, and found out some surprising things about you in the process._

_I wasn't even surprised when he told me you tried to bribe him to stay away from me. _

_We weren't mad when we found that you conspired with Quinn to break us up._

_Mostly I just feel sorry for you._

_That you chose to give your love and devotion to someone who you knew couldn't give it back to you._

_That you willingly broke up two people in love and still didn't get what you needed._

_I hope you find your happiness someday._

_But today, I'm going after mine. _

_Mercedes_

Taking a deep sobering breath he picked up the phone to call Quinn. He wanted to warn her. To let her know their plan had fallen apart. Honestly it went on longer than he ever imagined it would. He hoped Quinn married _him_. Hoped Mercedes didn't get there in time. Someone deserved a happy ending.


End file.
